Apple's shift in iOS development pace about evolving scale, not coping with bugs, says for...
Apple's "cultural shift" towards spacing out new features in iOS is more a natural function of development scale, and not really the revolution some people might perceive it to be, according to a noted former Microsoft Windows president.
iOS "dark mode" concept via Max Angelakis.
"What happens to a growing project over time is that processes and approaches need to re-thought," Steven Sinofsky said on Twitter. "It just means that how things once scaled -- tools like deciding features, priorities, est. schedules, integration test, etc -- are no longer scaling as well."
The shift may feel "dramatic" for people inside of Apple because it's the first time they've witnessed that sort of change, and outside because people are looking for a cause and effect, he elaborated.
"In my view the 'moment' is being manufactured a bit right now because of the perception that the Apple products have become less stable or...'buggy'," he said, while commenting that in his own view, Apple's hardware and software are at "quality levels our industry has just not seen before."
On Monday, a report indicated that Apple's iOS development is switching from loading features into major annual releases into scattering them out over time. That may put less pressure on teams, since they can concentrate on a smaller number of features at any one point.
The change may take effect in earnest with this fall's "iOS 12," which should be previewed during June's Worldwide Developers Conference. Some improvements could include deeper integration of Siri into Spotlight search, and a better "Do Not Disturb" mode.
iOS "dark mode" concept via Max Angelakis.
"What happens to a growing project over time is that processes and approaches need to re-thought," Steven Sinofsky said on Twitter. "It just means that how things once scaled -- tools like deciding features, priorities, est. schedules, integration test, etc -- are no longer scaling as well."
The shift may feel "dramatic" for people inside of Apple because it's the first time they've witnessed that sort of change, and outside because people are looking for a cause and effect, he elaborated.
"In my view the 'moment' is being manufactured a bit right now because of the perception that the Apple products have become less stable or...'buggy'," he said, while commenting that in his own view, Apple's hardware and software are at "quality levels our industry has just not seen before."
On Monday, a report indicated that Apple's iOS development is switching from loading features into major annual releases into scattering them out over time. That may put less pressure on teams, since they can concentrate on a smaller number of features at any one point.
The change may take effect in earnest with this fall's "iOS 12," which should be previewed during June's Worldwide Developers Conference. Some improvements could include deeper integration of Siri into Spotlight search, and a better "Do Not Disturb" mode.
Comments
That's some heavy PR spin. iOS 11 has been the buggiest release yet.
Why do we not hear about the failings of other tech companies? Is it because their products are perfect and bug free? Hardly and we all know that. I read an article a few weeks ago that dealt with how hackers are making millions of dollars a year from Android malware. Android is ridiculously fragmented and many device owners can only dream about getting security and bug updates. But we never hear about any of this do we?
Finally, the author thinks that Apple’s hardware and software quality is at levels the industry has not seen before. I agree.
This article is behind a paywall, but if you don't know Paul Thurrott, his site is one of the most popular Windows fan sites there is. Even he is calling on MS to take a page out of Apple's playbook and focus on quality because the quality of Windows is getting worse.
https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/152150/microsoft-please-pay-attention-apple-ios
"Today, Gurman has provided a second report explaining how Apple intends to fix this problem. It is adopting a two-year development approach in which major features are being split between iOS 12 and iOS 13 (due in late 2019), which will give its developers some flexibility, not to mention more time when needed. The “renewed focus,” Gurman says, is on “quality.”
Exactly right. As it should be.
More to the point, this is the strategy that Microsoft needs to adopt for Windows. Again."
My tendency is to prefer the refined style, but they have different management now without Jobs and Forestall. Also, it's hard to argue with Apple's success.
Wonder if Sinofsky is angling for an elder statesman/grizzled veteran type consulting gig at Apple. Not that he's actively seeking one, but I think he'd welcome an offer. Or seriously consider it. He has a lot of knowledge and experience that Apple can tap.
11.2 improves thing a lot but I can’t wait for 11.3.
I look at MacOS 10.4 & 10.6 (I know not iOS) that seem scheduled on merit vs corporate calendar...?
This reminds me of the demise of the MacWorld trade show,
as I recall putting too much pressure on development...?
macOS version history - Wikipedia
Apple Leaves MacWorld: It's About Time | TechCrunch
That's a bit of the curse and gift of the ecosystem, everything you add to it must be integrated initially or at least eventually with the rest of the ecosystem. That demands more resources and slows things down if they don't have the number of devs needed for the task (or they need to retask some)..
As for animojis,
People in their teens and 20s with money that buy phones want to have fun. You know fun, the opposite of "not fun", love "imojis" and by extension "animojis"..
Is it currently perceived as the most frustrating release yet? Absolutely.
Apple's support infrastructure is undoubtedly swamped with more cases than it has ever seen before due to "issues" with the latest software releases combined with the sheer number of devices which increases dramatically every year.
Apple has calculated that it would be a cost-effective move to focus on stability for the next round, which enables them to reduce support pressure, increase customer satisfaction, and create a stable platform for launching into the next round after that.
I’ll never forget his hugely embarrassing product demo failure during one of his Microsoft presentations. Good lord, that was enjoyable.
Ah, here it is:
https://youtu.be/4QRWa68MtLc